Island of Death
by xxSPARTAN119xx
Summary: Crossover between Far Cry 3 and (little known) web anime Busou Chuugakusei: Basket Army. Two years ago, Eastern Private Defense Academy student Touko Natori and a group of her peers fought off a group of mercenaries intent on stealing a prototype weapon from the JSDF. Now our young heroes are stranded on the Rook Islands... Busou Chuugakusei timeline, Far Cry AU.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to the Jungle

**Author's Note: Far Cry 3 is property Ubisoft. Busou Chuugakusei: Basket Army is property of Enterbrain and XXolution. **

**This cross over is somewhat unusual, spawned from my watching the currently ongoing, little known web-anime series Busou Chuugakusei: Basket Army, in which a group of students in a JROTC-like program with the Japanese Self-Defense Force battle a group of mercenaries intent on stealing some sort of experimental weapon in 2026. The accompanying web-novels have not been translated, so the character's personalities are going to be somewhat based on my interpretations. Also, this is an AU, with the timeline of events in Far Cry 3 changed, and possibly some of the events in Busou Chuugakusei. Also, the character profiles are based both on interpretations, and written in the style of the character profiles in the game, though Far Cry 3 characters will not have profiles, as I suspect most people who read this will have played the games. **

_2028, Two years after the Eastern Private Defense Academy incident_

Touko Natori sat silently on the bench seats in the cargo bay of the JSDF CH-47J Chinook as the helicopter flew over the open ocean, small specks of green- small islands, mostly uninhabited, as they flew south. Touko, along with the rest of Eastern Private Defense Academy were bound for Okinawa, for the first joint training exercise with the American JROTC.

"I can't wait to get on the ground in Okinawa, first leave we get, I'm heading straight for the beach.", Nanami Karino, a girl in Touko's class said.

"Karino-san, try and keep your mind on what's important, we're here to do a job.", Touko said.

"Give her a break, Natori-san", Satoshi Yoshino said, "Were not in the JSDF yet."

Touko opened her mouth to retort, but she was interrupted by the voice of Taro Tsurumi, who was looking out the window. They were now over the center of an archipelago. On the southernmost of the two central islands was a small airstrip

"Those helicopters", Taro said, pointing to an airstrip to their left, "Those are Black Hawks, but they don't have JSDF or American insignia… and… those guys, I can't see clearly from this height, but they seem to be wearing JSDF or US uniforms."

To punctuate Taro's point, the pilot of the helicopter said, "This is Delta 3, flight of one Chinook bound for Okinawa from the north. The GPS appears to be malfunctioning, attempting to navigate manually. Do you have us on RADAR, over?"

"Negative Delta 3", the air-traffic controller said.

"We are currently above an archipelago of several mountainous islands. One of the central islands appears to have an airstrip in the center…", the pilot replied.

Suddenly, the island airstrip became a hive of activity, personnel of the unknown force occupying the airfield started running towards vehicles on the airstrip. Suddenly, dozens of streaks of fire flew past the helicopter- bullets fired from vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns.

Several rounds punched holes through the side of the helicopter, as the glass of the cockpit window shattered. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot slumped over, dead.

People were screaming, Nanami Karino's screams were louder than anyone's- they learned in that incident two years ago that Nanami was easily stressed to the breaking point, but she insisted on staying in the school, perhaps to stay with her friends, perhaps because she had nowhere else to go.

Touko ran towards the front of the helicopter, into the shattered cockpit, trying the gain control of the helicopter, which was drifting, pilotless, toward a channel between the northern and southern islands.

"Get over here and help me", Touko yelled, as she tried to extricate the pilot, who was slumped against the flight stick, from of his seat."

Immediately, Kazuki Kurobe, Ann Matsura, and Taro Tsurumi ran to her aid, and, with their help, Touko managed to pull the pilot free from his seat. Touko jumped into the pilot seat and grabbed the radio and yelled frantically: "Mayday, Mayday, we're going down, taking hostile fire!"

The radio, however, was inoperable, having been riddled by several .50 caliber rounds.

"Touko-san", Kazuki Kurobe yelled, "RPG incoming, left side!"

Suddenly the entire helicopter shook as Touko was almost knocked onto her seat. Suddenly the helicopter started spiraling towards the northern island, the rear rotor being blown away by the RPG impact.

Touko Natori actually was knocked out of her seat as the Chinook slammed into a hilltop with an old radio tower on top of it. The center of the helicopter hit the radio tower, splitting into two halves. The rear of the helicopter remained on the top of the hill, however the front half kept rolling down the hills, before hitting a sandy beach and sliding in the sand, finally coming to a stop a few meters from the water

"Am I… still alive?", Touko said to herself as she opened her eyes after the aircraft stopped moving. The first thing she saw was the floor of the helicopter cockpit, confirming that she was indeed still among the living. Kazuki was lying next to her, and Ann and Taro were lying on the floor of cargo bay- or the half of it that wasn't on the top of the hill.

"Kazuki!... Everyone, are you OK!?", Touko asked.

"I'm fine", Kazuki said as he got up, "Few cuts and bruises, but I'm OK…."

"I think I'm OK", Ann said.

"We're all fine then, but it's just us four", Taro replied, "The rest must have gone down with the other end of the helicopter".

"All right then", Touko said, "We'll try and find out if there are any survivors, and remember, this place could be crawling with hostiles."

At that, Touko heard voices coming form outside the helicopter. She peeked out of one of the windows, seeing three armed men in red t-shirts with a white skull and crossbones slowly advancing on the chopper.

"They have to be around here somewhere", one of the men said, "and Vaas wants them alive, they're not worth anything to us dead".

"What are they saying?", Touko asked as the four of them took cover inside the remains of the chopper.

"They're speaking English", Taro, whose father was an American, said, "It sounds like they're looking for us?"

"Sound's like they're human traffickers", Ann, who also spoke English, having a foreign mother, whispered, "They want to take us alive"

"We're not going to let them", Touko said as she got out her combat knife, a black, double-edged dagger, a weapon given to her by her father, a colonel in the JSDF, "Stay in the helicopter and check those dead pilots, see if you can find any weapons on them"

"They've each got a knife and a handgun on them", Kazuki said, taking the combat knife and SiG Sauer P220 9mm and spare magazine for himself, and handing the other to Taro.

"All right, hide in the chopper- we'll ambush 'em when they enter, try to keep it quiet, don't shoot unless you have to.", Touko whispered.

Touko stood near the newly created "rear entrance" of their half of the helicopter, dagger in hand, and the others hid in the cockpit.

As soon as the pirates entered the downed helicopter, Touko thrust the dagger into the first man's chest three times, causing him to cough up blood and fall his knees, before hitting the sand. The other man turned, AK-47 rifle at the ready. Touko, however, was too quick for him- she managed to push the AK upward and thrust her dagger into the man's torso. Touko stabbed the pirate two more times, causing him to go limp.

At this point, Touko grabbed him around the neck, using the dead body as a shield, and drew the pirate's Colt M1911 from his holster and fired three shots, all of them hitting pirate in the chest and killing him.

"Holy shit!", Taro said as he walked over to Touko.

"Remind me never to piss off Touko", Kazuki said, as Touko wiped the blood off her knife on the shirt of the one of the dead pirates and returned the dagger to its sheath.

"Take anything we can use quickly and get out of here", Touko said in a commanding tone of voice.

"Ann", Touko said, "You're the best shot, take this."

Ann Matsura grabbed the Russian-made SVD Dragunov sniper rifle Touko had handed her. "Not my old Walther, but it will do", she commented.

Ann Matsura had used a Walther WA-2000 sniper rifle during the 2026 incident. She had gotten hold of the weapon from a stockpile of arms, including several weapons the JSDF had evaluated, but never adopted. It was a rare find- less than 200 WA-2000s were ever made, and weapons in the condition of the one Ann used went for up to fifty thousand US dollars.

Taro and Kazuki both picked up AK-47s, ammunition, grenades, and machetes from the two dead pirates.

Touko, meanwhile, examined the small submachine gun the sniper carried at his side. Touko didn't recognize the weapon- it had no stock, and a thumbhole foregrip. The words Agram 2000 was stamped on the side of the weapon along with "9x19 mm", so Touko assumed this must be the name of the gun. Touko then grabbed the three extra magazines for the weapon on the pirates' dead body, and a reloaded, as the rest collected their ammunition.

"Let get to the other crash site on the top of that hill", Touko said, "Everyone on me and keep you eyes open, there's got to be more of them here."

The four survivors of the helicopter crash walked off the beach, into the dense jungle, Taro leading the way with the machete he took from the dead pirate, slashing through any undergrowth to thick to walk through.

They met no one else for the next half-hour or so, though it felt like much longer, save for a couple of wild boar, which fled at the sound of them. Finally, by the time they were within 100 meters of the hilltop when they heard the sound of vehicle engines.

Upon reaching the edge of the clearing of the hilltop, they saw the remains of the rear of the Chinook, as well as what was left of the radio tower- the top half was snapped when the helicopter collided with it. Two pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the back- "technicals", as well as an old military truck with a covered top idled near the crash site.

As the four survivors of the crash approached, the truck drove away, leaving only the technicals and five pirates in the area.

"Looks like they found the crash site", Touko said, "On my go, we take these guys out", Touko whispered, "go for the gunners on the technicals first."

"Ready… NOW!", Touko said.

On command, Ann Matsura fired her SVD Dragunov sniper rifle at the gunner on the technical, causing him to fall to the ground, dead from a shot straight through the head. The second technical gunner was picked off by a burst from Kazuki Kurobe's AK-47.

Touko's Agram 2000 blazed, cutting down a pirate with a pump-action shotgun, while Taro fired his AK, dropping another enemy. The last surviving pirate was cut down by gunshots from at least two of the survivors, his body riddled with bullets as he fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

"CLEAR!", Touko exclaimed, moving forward with weapon in hand, closely followed by the "squad" of survivors she was now leading, "Search the area".

"Is anyone here? Karino-san? Satoshi-kun?", Kazuki asked.

After searching the wreckage of the helicopter, it was apparent that none of the other survivors of the crash were in the area.

"Damn it!", Taro said, "They're not here".

"I bet they took carried them off in that truck", Ann said.

"What the hell do we do now?!", Taro asked.

"We find them, that's what we do!", Touko said, "We don't leave our own behind!"

"These technicals should come in useful", Touko said, "We'll need transport… and the firepower."

"But none of us know how to drive?", Kazuki said.

"How hard can it be?", Touko said, "We can learn along the way".

"Hey, take a look at what I found", Taro interrupted them.

Touko and the others turned to see Taro carrying a PKM light machine gun, along with a couple of spare ammo belts.

"This'll come in useful", Taro said, before adding, "Natori-san, you can take my AK if you want."

Touko obliged, putting her Agram at her side and picking up Taro's Kalashnikov. The four of them then prepared to mount up on the technical when they heard the sound of another vehicle coming from the road leading down the hill.

Taro held his PKM at his hip, ready to provide suppressive fire, while Touko took aim down the sights of her AK. Kazuki mounted the DShK heavy machine gun on the technical, as Ann took aim with her sniper rifle.

A jeep drove up the dirt road, and stopped suddenly, seeing the roadblock. The occupants of the jeep carried weapons, but did not wear the same red "uniform" as the pirates they had encountered so far.

The survivors of the helicopter crash kept their weapons steady, but did not open fire immediately.

"Don't shoot!", one of the men said in English, as he exited the vehicle, leaving his weapon inside. He ordered the men inside to do the same, "We are not your enemies".

"Who are you?", Ann responded, also in English.

"My name is Dennis", the man said, "and these men are of the local indigenous people, the Rakyat".

"We are students of the Eastern Private Defense Academy, affiliated with the Japanese Self-Defense Force, we crashed here in the middle of a helicopter flight to Okinawa. Can you tell us where we are?", Touko asked, and Ann interpreted.

"Okinawa?", Dennis said, "I'm afraid you are off by several hundred miles to the south. You are on the Rook Islands. Used be a British colony, but now there's nobody here but us and the pirates."

"Have you seen anyone in a similar uniform to the ones we are wearing?", Touko asked, "We think they might have been taken by pirates".

This time, Taro translated.

"We do not have any information at the moment", Dennis said, "But you can come back with us. It's getting late in the day, we have somewhere safe you can stay for the night".

Touko thought this over for a few seconds. This man, Dennis, did not look like a pirate, nor did the Rakyat. While she did not entirely trust him, they didn't have anywhere else to go, and he could be a useful source of information.

"_We'll go with them", _Touko said in Japanese, _"But be wary, I still don't entirely trust these people". _

"OK", Ann said, "We'll come with you. By the way, my name is Ann Matsura. The other girl is Touko Natori. This is Taro Tsurumi, and this is Kazuki Kurobe". As Ann gave the names of the two boys, she pointed to each of them in turn.

"Can you drive a vehicle?", Dennis asked, "I am afraid we have no more room in this one, but those vehicles should still have the keys in the ignition."

"No", Ann replied, "None of us have ever driven before".

"Then I will have one of our men drive you", Dennis said.

As Ann and Dennis spoke, Taro filled Touko and Kazuki in on what they were saying. After the conversation ended, a Rakyat warrior climbed out of the jeep and entered technical, motioning for Touko and Taro to get in.

Touko climbed into the side seat, while Taro and Ann jumped into the truck bed, sitting on top of one of bulges in either side of the bed created by the wheel wells. Kazuki, meanwhile, remained mounted up on the DShK machine gun as the vehicle make its way through the jungle, to wherever they were going.

After about another hour or so of driving- the distance was not particularly far, but the roads were not in particularly good conditions, the two-vehicle convoy made it to a small settlement consisting of a number of wooden structures with corrugated aluminum roofs. In the middle of the village was a building marked as a general store, with "Guns sold here", written in large letters.

"Welcome to the town Amanaki", Dennis said, as he exited the jeep and motioned for Touko and the others to follow him.

"You may stay here for tonight", Dennis said, motioning to an old building with a red door, "This structure has been unoccupied for about a year."

Touko entered first. The building was a one-room structure, with a battered-looking work bench with a couple of old tools on one end, with a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling the only source of light. Crates, mostly empty, lined one wall, while a battered-looking cot and sofa lined another.

In one of the crates, however, Taro found something interesting:

"Look's like somebody's been stashing drugs in here", Taro said, motioning to several bags in the crate, some of a white powder, probably cocaine, while others contained what was probably marijuana.

"Don't touch it", Touko said, "We don't know what's in there".

"It's not just drugs", Taro said, "I also found this"

Taro unfolded his hand, revealing several American bills, totaling about 400 dollars.

"Hold onto those", Kazuki said, "I bet they'd take those in that store. We might need to buy ammo or supplies at some point".

"Good idea", Touko said as she laid her weapons on the old workbench and laid on the cot. Ann curled up on the sofa, leaving the two boys to gets as comfortable as possible on the floor.

**Character Profiles: **

**Touko Natori: **

**Gender: Female**

**D.O.B: August 1, 2011. **

**Age: 17**

**Blood Type: A**

**Touko Natori is the daughter of Colonel Souichiro Natori of the JSDF. In this case, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Touko enrolled in the Eastern Private Defense Academy in 2024, after Japan created a JROTC-like program that lets students study military studies starting in middle school with the intent of entering the JSDF upon reaching service age. Personally, I don't know if the marksmanship training part was such as good idea- from my experience, raging hormones and assault rifles don't mix well. **

**Regardless, Touko proved herself to be a natural leader, and a patriot from an early age, by the end of her last year of middle school, she was assigned as a squad leader for training exercises.**

**Life got interesting real fast when she, along with seven of her classmates, volunteered to aid with an experimental weapons project. I'm not sure what precisely they intended them to that couldn't be done better by adult volunteers, but in either case, some French mercs showed up and tried to steal part of an experimental weapon as part of an industrial espionage plan by the arms manufacturer, Aubert. **

**So the instructor who had the part at the time got shot, and entrusted it to Touko and a group of other students. They got a hold some guns and held out against the merc onslaught in an abandoned building. They managed to hold out even after the frogs set the place on fire. Eventually, the JSDF figured out what was going on, and sorted everything out. Most of the mercs that survived were captured, though a few are rumored to have escaped and still be at large. **

**Kazuki Kurobe:**

**Gender: Male**

**D.O.B: February 3, 2012**

**Age: 16**

**Blood Type: A**

**Kazuki Kurobe's life was turned upside down after the death of his parents. After living a few years in an orphanage, he enrolled in the Eastern Private Defense Academy. There he maintained excellent grades and proved himself to be a skilled athlete, in peak physical condition for his age. He also had something of a rivalry with Touko Natori, both of them being top students in his class. However, he is not without his weaknesses- namely a strong sense of "personal myth". Basically that means he thinks the bullets will always hit somebody else. This gives him a habit of engaging in actions that might have him learn that is not the case the hard way. **

**After the incident in 2026, he and Touko became closer to one another. I guess having fought off a bunch of French mercs together is the kind of thing that brings you closer together. **

**Taro Tsurumi: **

**Gender: Male**

**D.O.B: October 3, 2011**

**Age: 16**

**Blood Type: O**

**Taro Tsurumi was the son of an American expatriate and a Japanese mother. After being born in Japan, he lived in his father's hometown for a while, so he is fluent in both English and Japanese. His reasons for enrolling in Eastern Private Defense Academy are unknown, and his classmates did not know about his dual citizenship- Taro never told them for fear that they would not accept him out of nationalism. **

**After the incident in 2026, he finally revealed the truth about his ancestry, and was accepted nonetheless, after he fought alongside them. Taro's large size and great physical strength will no doubt prove an asset on this island, where you'll need someone who can heft a PKM or an RPG. **

**Ann Matsura: **

**Gender: Female**

**D.O.B: November 24, 2011**

**Age: 16**

**Blood Type: O**

**Ann is child of the unusual couple of a ceramic artist and a rock star, not to mention being half-Japanese and half-American. Her parents were staunch pacifists, so after they had a falling out, Ann figured "What better way to piss off her parents than to enroll in a defense academy?". **

**Ann enjoyed life at the academy, feeling that life there had a definite purpose and sense of accomplishment. She also discovered a talent for marksmanship, proving herself to be one of the best in her class. **

**After the French mercs showed up, Ann found a rare Walther WA-2000 sniper rifle- apparently the JSDF had one for evaluation, but never adopted it, so they left it in the shack out back until Ann found it and used it for its intended purpose. **


	2. Chapter 2: The Escapee and the Chemist

**Author's Note: Far Cry 3 is property Ubisoft. Busou Chuugakusei: Basket Army is property of Enterbrain and XXolution. When the main characters are speaking amongst themselves, assume they are speaking Japanese, while Earnhardt and other island locals will be assumed to be speaking English, unless noted. As Earnhardt is a polyglot (at least in this AU), he will be able to speak Japanese. Anything spoken in Japanese spoken by or around him will be in **_**italics. **_

Touko Natori woke up around 0800 hours to the sound of the people eating. She got up from the bed, to see Taro, Ann and Kazuki having breakfast. Each of them had a canteen cup of breakfast cereal. On a small table to one side was a box of cereal, a container of evaporated milk and a gallon jug of water.

"Oh, Touko-san, your up", Kazuki said, "We picked up breakfast at the general store. We got one of you too"

Kazuki passed Touko a battered old canteen cup and matching canteen- old US Army issue, as well as a small spoon. Touko poured herself a cup of water, and mixed in a couple spoonfuls of powdered milk, before adding the cereal and starting

to eat.

"Not the best, but at least we've got something to eat", Touko commented as she ate.

A few minutes later, after everyone had finished, the topic of conversation changed to their missing friends.

"How are we supposed to find out where the pirates took our friends?", Ann asked.

"We could try and take one of these pirates alive", Touko said, "Force the intel out of him."

Further planning on the subject, however, was rendered unnecessary, as the door suddenly opened. It was Dennis, the foreigner who was living with the Rakyat.

"Ann, I have found news of your friends", Dennis said, only noting Ann's name, possibly as she was their interpreter, or possibly because he had simply forgotten the names of the other three, "The pirates are holding a Japanese girl in an outpost to the east."

As he spoke, Dennis unfurled a map of the Rook Islands. "You are here." Dennis pointed out Amanaki on the map before continuing, "The outpost is circled in red. We intend to take back the outpost for the Rakyat, as a first step towards retaking this island from the pirates. I have yet to see you in action, but if you killed that squad of pirates yesterday, you are no doubt skilled. We could use your help, if you wish.

Dennis left after he finished speaking, leaving Ann to finish interpreting what he said to the others.

"Well, what do you think?", Ann asked.

"We're going with them, and were going to get which ever one of them it is back. We don't leave our friends behind.", Touko said, "Everyone arm up".

The inside of the shack became a hive of activity as a everyone collected their weapons, which were all placed against tables or propped up against the walls.

Within five minutes, everyone exited the building, armed up and ready for battle, Touko and Kazuki carrying AKs, Taro wielding his PKM and Ann armed with her Dragunov. All of them had handguns and grenades at their side. People stared as they passed by, armed to the teeth- men with guns were a common sight, but the oldest of them was only 17, and they were clearly not from the island.

"Excellent!", Dennis, who was sitting in the drivers seat of a jeep one of the two on the road, said as they walked towards the road, "You have chosen the path of the warrior".

"Uhhh… Yeah", Taro said, unsure how to respond to that as he climbed into the back of the jeep along with the other four. Dennis started the vehicle and drove off, followed by a jeep full of Rakyat warriors armed with AKs.

After a few minute of driving down narrow, unpaved dirt roads, the jeeps came to a stop near the side of a ridge.

"Why are we stopping here?", Taro asked.

"The outpost lies on the other side of this hill", Dennis replied, "You will climb the up and provide support for us from above. We will move in when we hear you fire the first shots. Good luck".

At that, Touko led Taro, Ann, and Kazuki up the hill, moving slowly and keeping a low profile so as not the be seen. When they reached the top of the hill, Touko motioned for them to stop.

"Hold here", Touko whispered, "Ann, scope out the area, but hold your fire."

"Looks like we've got about ten men in the area", Ann said as she looked through the scope. From what the others could see, that seemed about right. The outpost consisted of two small shacks made of corrugated aluminum, and what looked like a pre-fabricated trailer.

"There's a sniper on the roof", Ann said, "and a heavy machine gun nest to the left."

"I see the nest", Kazuki said, "I think I can get a grenade in there".

"Sounds like plan", Touko said, "Ann, drop that sniper as soon as the grenade explodes, Taro and I will provide fire support."

"All right, let's go", Touko said.

Kazuki Kurobe took of the M26 fragmentation grenades from his belt and crept forward several dozen meters, before pulling out the pin. He then tossed the grenade through the air, towards the machine gun next.

The unsuspecting pirate operating the machine gun heard something small hit the ground near his feet. He looked down just in time to see a green, roughly lemon-shaped object.

"GREN…. BOOM", the pirate attempts to warn his comrades about the grenade was interrupted as it detonated with a deafening roar, making a bloody mess of the machine gunner and also killing one other, who was standing nearby.

At the same time as the explosion, the sniper on top of a building collapsed with a bullet in his brain- the report from Ann's sniper rifle was masked by the exploding grenade.

Touko fired her AK at a pirate that tried to run towards what she assumed to be an alarm- a wooden pole about ten feet tall, with a loudspeaker-type device on top and a red switch on the side at about chest level. The pirate was killed before he could raise the alarm as were two more pirates, who were cut down by a hail of bullets from Taro's PKM.

The surviving pirates retreated towards the exit of the outpost, only for one to be picked off by Ann, and the other, machine gunned by Taro. The three who made it the exit were cut down by fire from the Dennis and the rest of the Rakyat, who charged in the front entrance.

The Rakyat searched the exterior of the base as Ann and Taro both yelled "Friendlies coming in, left side".

Touko and the other three others emerged from the jungle, and, not bothering to speak with Dennis or any of the Rakyat, Touko kicked down the door to the main building.

Inside were a number of crates of supplies, as a well as a table with a radio on top, and, in the back, an empty metal cage. Lying on the floor was wounded pirate, clutching his injured leg.

"Please…" he said as he produced a wad of cash, "Don't kill me… take this cash".

"There was a Japanese girl being held here", Ann said, "Where is she!?"

"The girl, she escaped, fled to the west", the pirate replied, "I'm telling the truth… take the cash too…. just don't kill me".

"This could come in useful", Taro said, picking up a suppressed MP5 submachine gun.

"It's yours, just let me go", the pirate said.

"All right then", Ann said, "Thank you for your cooperation".

At that, she exited the structure along with Touko, Kazuki, and Taro. They cared little what happened to the pirate at the hands of the Rakyat.

"So, did you find your friend?", Dennis asked.

"No", Taro said, interpreting for Toko, "Apparently she escaped ran off to the west. Do you have any idea where she might have ended up?"

"Go see Dr. Earnhardt", Dennis said.

"Who", Taro responded.

"Dr. Alec Earnhardt, a British chemist living on the east side of the island.", Dennis said, "He might know something".

Dennis then produced the map of the Rook Islands he had shown them earlier, as well as a pen from his pocket. Dennis marked a point on the east end of the island.

"Earnhardt's house should be on that point. Take the map and this cell phone", Dennis said as he handed them a phone that looked to be about ten years old, "Just in case I need to keep in contact with you".

"Thank you", Touko said in what little English she could speak, her accent making it sound more like "_sankyu". _

"Your welcome", Dennis said as Touko climbed into a jeep that had been "liberated" from the pirates, "But I thought you did not know how to drive."

"I haven't driven before, but it can't be too difficult", Touko responded through Ann's interpretation, as Kazuki sat at her side and Taro and Ann got in the back.

"True", Dennis said, "There is a first time for everything. Good luck, young warriors".

At that, Touko stepped on the clutch, pulled the shift into what she thought was first gear, and stepped on the gas. The jeep rolled forward, down the dirt road. About 100 meters away, the jeep's engine started to make an unusual sound, before it stalled, giving out entirely.

"I think you need switch gears when it starts to sound like that", Ann said.

Touko restarted the engine and drove off again, this time successfully managing to get the vehicle up into second, and then third gear as they drove past Amanaki.

Past Amanaki, the road left the main island, and continued along a wide sandbar connecting the main island with a smaller island. Kazuki got out the map- English was a required class in most Japanese schools, so he could read enough to understand the map, even he was not fluent like Ann or Taro.

"Keep following this road", Kazuki instructed, "The sandbar should continue past this one, and onto the next island. Keep heading west at the fork in the road"

"Got it", Touko said, as they quickly crossed the first island and drove back onto the sandbar, from which a rocky promontory, about 150 meters above the sandbar was visible.

Touko took the north fork in the road, ascending the winding path up to the summit of the rocky point, crossing a wooden bridge over a small stream, before making it to the top, on which was situated what looked like it had once been a beautifully apportioned mansion, about 100 years ago... Now the place looked like it was abandoned.

"This place is abandoned", Taro said, "That Dennis guy had better not be fucking with us".

"He's not", Ann said, "There's someone in the greenhouse."

The four of them exited the vehicle, led by Touko. All of them kept their weapons in hand, just in case. As they entered the greenhouse, which was filled with a number of different plants none of them had ever seen before, they saw an older man, seated at a table covered in test tubes, beakers, Bunsen burners, and, to one side, several bowls of differently colored pills.

"Excuse me, sir", Ann said to the man in the greenhouse, "You wouldn't happen to be Dr. Earnhardt?"

"Ahh, Yes, I am", Dr. Earnhardt said, "See anything you fancy? I quite like the red ones, and the purple one's will definitely liven up a dreary day…. But don't try the yellow ones- they're liable to kill you. I haven't got the formulation quite right on those."

"We're not here for those", Ann said, "We heard you might know something about our friend".

"Oh", Dr. Earnhardt said, "I'll be making up another batch this morning".

"_I don't think this guy knows anything about where the others went_", Ann said in Japanese.

"_My apologies", _Dr. Earnhardt suddenly broke into Japanese.

"_You speak Japanese?", _Touko asked.

"_Hai,", _Earnhardt said, "_I also speak French and German. Anyway, my apologies, I assumed you to be speaking in code, but you must be the friends of that Japanese girl, Nanami I think her name was. Come with me, I have her with me."_

As Earnhardt led them into the house, he said, _"It was lucky I found her when I did- the girl was about to walk into a field of Antiaris Toxicaria- highly poisonous sap." _

The Earnhardt led them up a set of stairs to a room that looked like the it belonged to a young girl, what with the toys on the shelves, the child-sized bed, and the pink wallpaper. However, there was no sign of a child anywhere else in the house.

The unusual décor of the room, however, was pushed to the back of their minds when they saw the girl on the bed.

"_Namami!_", Touko said.

"_Touko… and Kazuki, Ann, and Taro too… Your OK! I was so scared….", _Nanami said as she grabbed Touko and pulled her into a tight embrace. Nanami soon pulled Taro, Ann, and Kazuki into a group hug as well.

After they broke apart, Nanami continued speaking, sounding more concerned this time, _"I escaped from the cage they were holding me in and ran into the jungle, that's when he found me…. I'm afraid I don't know where the others are…"_

At that, Nanami said, "_Dr. Earnhardt , I have some other friends who are trapped on this island, still held by the pirates. Could we bring them here?"_

Abruptly, Dr. Earnhardt switched back to English, "Well, I could not refuse you, Agnes…"

Taro opened his mouth to speak, clearing about to ask what Earnhardt was talking about, but Touko gave him a look that silenced him at once

"But you can't stay in the house", Earnhardt continued, in English, as he produced a flashlight from his side and handed it to Touko, "I deal with the pirates regularly… But there's a cave out back that I use to store things… mostly junk, but I do have some old camping equipment in there, including a tent".

"Thank you", Nanami said in her best attempt at English, and followed her classmates down the stairs and out of the house, as Earnhardt said, "Your very welcome, Agnes…. Dear me, I think I'll need to take double the normal dosage."

The five of them walked out to the back of house, and quickly noticed a break in the cliffs in the back. The break in the cliffs sloped relatively gently down to the entrance of a cave.

"This has to be the place the doctor was talking about", Touko said, as she walked in and turned on the flashlight.

The inside of the cave was a large chamber, with a stack of crates filled with various supplies on one wall. Among these items were a number of flashlights, a few tents, still bagged, and a propane camp stove.

In the other corner of the room was something no one quite understood how it got there: An entire boat. Unfortunately, it did not look like it had been seaworthy for years.

"This is excellent", Taro said, "I guess he can be relied on, even if he is crazy".

"He's not so bad", Nanami replied, "He's a bit crazy, but he's not dangerous. Actually a pretty nice guy… I feel kind of sorry for him, I think he lost a child at some point."

"Well that would explain the kid's room, and the whole Agnes thing…", Kazuki commented as he got out one of the tents and unrolled it on the cave floor. It was a large four-person tent.

"I bet he started using those drugs after his daughter… Agnes died…", Ann said, as she helped Touko put up a smaller two-person tent.

No sooner had they completed the tents, then Ann received a call on the cell phone Dennis gave them.

"Hello", Ann said.

"It's Dennis", Dennis' voice spoke through the phone, "Did you find your friend?"

"Yeah", Ann replied, "Dr. Earnhardt found her."

"I'm glad to hear that", Dennis replied, "And I think I might know where you can get intel on the others. The pirates use an the communications antenna on the Medusa, a ship that ran aground on the north coast of the island years ago, but the antenna is still operating. They should keep logs of radio communications there, so there might be something about your friends, but the place is crawling with pirates, so you might want to go in stealthy. The store in Amanaki should have some suppressed weapons."

As soon as the call ended, Ann relayed the information to Touko and the others.

"Nanami", Touko said said in her commanding voice, "You can stay here and rest for now. Taro, you hold down the fort, just make sure no 'uninvited guests' show up".

"The rest of you, with me", Touko continued, "With me, we're going to find intel on our friends. But first, we're making a quick shopping trip. Also, everyone remember this: when entering the cave, the challenge is a "Kamiya", countersign is "demon". I'll fill Dr. Earnhardt in on this new system".

The countersign brought a snicker to everyone in present. Kimiko Kamiya, better known to the students of Eastern Private Defense Academy as "the demon", was a JSDF captain who worked with the academy during their field training exercises. The students only worked with her once a year, however, her strict military discipline and demanding expectations made an impression that would never leave them.

Touko Natori, Ann Matsura, and Kazuki Kurobe picked up their weapons, Kazuki taking the silenced MP5 they had found in the outpost that morning. Taro, meanwhile, positioned himself on top of the old boat, placing the bipod of his PKM on the side, aiming at the entrance to the cave.

"Good luck", Nanami said as they left, while Taro added, "Don't get yourselves shot out there!"

The three of them then walked out of the cave, up the little path up the Earnhardt mansion, taking cover in the tall grass briefly and scanning the area. Once they were sure that no pirates were currently paying Earnhardt a visit.

"Looks clear", Touko said, "Lets move".

The three of them walked over to the greenhouse, where Dr. Earnhardt was still at work on one drug concoction or another.

"_Oh_", he said in Japanese, _Hello… Natori-san, was it?" _

"_Hai", _Touko said, "_We're heading off to see if you can find out anything about where our friends went. By the way, when going into the cave, if you hear the challenge "Kamiya", respond with "demon". That way we know your friendly." _

"_Good idea, coming up with a way to tell if someone is hostile. I shall remember that", Earnhardt said. _

**New Character Profiles: **

**Nanami Karino**

**D.O.B: May 23, 2011**

**Age: 17**

**Blood Type: O**

**Nanami Karino, along with her sister, had dreams of attaining celebrity status from an early age. During her childhood, she worked as a child model, and discovered a talent for dancing. However, it would be her sister, not Nanami, who would make progress on towards her dreams of stardom. Initially, Nanami was happy for her sister, but gradually, she became more and more frustrated with the amount of attention the family paid to her sister, while ignoring her. **

**So Nanami left home and enrolled in a boarding school- the Eastern Private Defense Academy- at an early age. There, Nanami seemed to have finally found happiness, having many friends and generally being well liked for her cheerful, upbeat personality. **

**But, unfortunately, a bunch of French mercs showed up at the school, attempting to steal a package of experimental weapon parts and ruined all the fun. I sympathize with you, Nanami, I hate it when that happens!**

**So, Nanami showed joined Touko's little group to fight against the frogs, unfortunately, she discovered that some things just aren't good for one's psychological health- and hails of bullets flying over your head happens to be one of them, which lead to Nanami going into a panic and getting a bad case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Nanami managed to survive the incident and recover from her PTSD with the support of her friends. She insisted in staying in the Eastern Private Defense Academy, in spite of the fact that it meant a career path leading to the JSDF. I suspect she aims for the safest career option in the JSDF- the commander of an LMD: A Large Mahogany Desk.**


	3. Chapter 3: Warrantless Eavesdropping

**Author's Note: Far Cry 3 is property of Ubisoft. Busou Chuugakusei: Basket Army is property of Enterbrain and XXolution. Also, the weapon prices will be different than the ones in game. Also, the structure of an area and mission objectives may differ from the game.**

About five minutes after departing Dr. Earnhardt's house, Touko parked the technical that had become their primary mode of transportation around the island in front of a small makeshift gas station in Amanaki, little more than a shack with a couple of hand-operated pumps next to it.

Touko and the others walked over around the gas station, to the village of Amanaki proper, making their way to the general store and walking inside.

"Hello", the woman at the counter said, "You're the kids who crash landed on the island, right. Is there anything in particular you are looking for?"

"Yes", Ann said, getting out the large wad of cash they now carried- between the 400 dollars Taro found in the shack that first night and the money they took off that pirate in the outpost, they had almost $4500, "Do you have suppressors that will work with these guns?".

Touko and Kazuki both drew the SiG Sauer P220 pistols they found of the dead helicopter pilot and copilot, as well as Touko's Agram 2000 SMG and placed them on the counter.

"Yes, I have the suppressors for all three of those in stock", the store owner replied, "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"There is", Ann said, "Do you have a suppressor for an SVD Dragunov?"

"I am afraid not", the shopkeeper said, "If you want silent, long-range firepower, however, I might recommend this M40, I can sell it to you with a suppressor and a standard five times scope for 600 dollars, but for 800, I'll include this 2.5-10 times adjustable scope."

Ann translated with the woman in the store had said, and then asked, "_What do you think, Touko?_"

"_Depends, ask her how much it is with the other suppressors and a third handgun, and ammunition.", _Touko replied.

"How much would the total be for the rifle with all the attachments, as well as the three pistols and another suppressed handgun?", Ann asked.

"With this Makarov 9mm and a suppressor, as well as the other items, it comes to a total of $1250.", The shop owner replied.

Ann reported this to Touko, "_It's a lot of money, but knowing how easily we found that, we can probably get more rather easily. I say we have ourselves a deal". _

"All right", Ann said as she counted out 13 hundred-dollar notes from the large wad of money, "We'll take it".

The store owner gave them a fifty dollar bill in change, and then handed over the supressors to Touko, who passed them to their owners along with their handguns. Ann then took the M40 rifle and Makarov, as well as a couple boxes of 7.62mm subsonic ammo for use with suppressors and a box of 9mm Makarov.

After a few minutes, all four of them were armed up, having attached the suppressors to their weapons.

"Wait a sec", Kazuki said, "Where are we going to keep our other weapons, the AKs and stuff?"

"We can keep them in that old shack Dennis said we could use and pick them up on the way back.", Touko replied.

After storing their equipment away in the shack, Touko, Kazuki, and Ann drove north for a couple kilometers in the technical, before Touko parked the vehicle.

"According to the map, we should be close to the wreck of the Medusa", Touko said, "We'll take it one foot from here. Keep your eyes open".

Touko led the other two through the jungle for a few hundred meters, treading as lightly as possible. Suddenly, Touko raised her hand, making "stop" signal.

Touko then held up two fingers, indicating two hostiles. The two enemies were relatively close, one, about 60 meters away, the other, only 30.

"Take 'em out", Touko whispered.

Kazuki drew his suppressed SiG Sauer pistol and took aim at the nearer pirate's head, while Ann aimed her rifle at the further enemy. Touko counted now with her fingers… "Three… Two… One…"

As Touko lowered her last finger, the two suppressed weapons made a muffled popping noise, as both pirates fell down, dead from a gunshot the head. Touko made a motion with her hand- move forward.

At the edge of the forest was a large cliff, about a hundred meters tall, with a large shipwreck at the bottom. That had to be the Medusa. The only route down was an old concrete staircase leading to a series of bunkers, dating back to the Japanese presence on the island in World War II.

"We're going down", Touko said, "Be careful, there could be hostiles in the bunker."

Touko led the way down the staircase, entering the first bunker, a short, cylindrical concrete structure with a firing slit on one end. Just enough light was coming in through the firing slit to make a flashlight unnecessary.

Ann slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder, it being little use in the dark corridor, as Kazuki whispered, "Check this out".

Kazuki had found a dead body clad in what was only barely recognizable as a World War II-era Japanese uniform in the bunker, and next to it, a sheathed tanto- a traditional Japanese dagger.

"Nice find", Touko said, "That could be of some use in close combat."

Ann looked out the firing slit, catching a glimpse of the interior of the next bunker, which was about half-way down the cliff, connected to the first by a second staircase.

"Careful", Ann said, "There's a hostile in the next bunker, but I can't get a clear shot at him at this angle"

"We'll take him out quietly then", Touko said.

The three of them crept forward through the bunker, and along the staircase. Kazuki took the lead, creeping into the bunker. Before Touko could stop him, however, he had drawn his tanto, and entered the bunker.

Kazuki lunged at the pirate from behind, who, by the time he had noticed Kazuki, already had a tanto blade protruding through his chest. Kazuki put his hand over the man's throat and pulled the body downwards, lowering it to the ground as quietly as possible.

"Are you crazy?", Touko asked, "You could have got us all killed!"

"Says the girl who knifed two pirates yesterday", Kazuki retorted.

"That was…", Touko said.

"You two should both be quiet", Ann said, reminding them that their argument could indeed alert nearby enemies.

"I guess your right", Touko said, "But no more unnecessary risks".

"I got it, OK", Kazuki said, as her wiped off the tanto on the pirate's clothing, then sheathed the blade and raised his suppressed MP5 again.

After the next bunker, staircase continued down, winding twice, before finally ending on the beach at the bottom of the cliff. Touko and the others crouched, low enough to hide behind the chest-high concrete wall at the edge of the staircase.

At the bottom of the stairs, Touko peeked around, spotting an old, rusting shipping container concealing them for the view of the ship. Also behind the container were two pirates conversing with one another. Thankfully, they did not appear to have noticed Touko.

"Two hostiles", Touko whispered, "Ann, take 'em out."

Ann nodded, and a raised unslung her rifle. It was only a distance of about ten meters to the pirates, but they were facing each other, perfect position for a large-caliber round like the one fired by the M40 to shoot straight through one and into the other.

Ann took aim, her scope at its minimum zoom, only 2.5 times, placing the crosshair over the pirate's head. The silencer let out a dull pop as a 7.62mm NATO round flew entered the head of the first pirate, and exited, practically exploding his face. The round then kept going, scoring a fatal shot on the second pirate as well.

"Two tangos down", Ann said quietly.

Touko got up from behind the wall, and hid behind the shipping container, quickly followed by Kazuki and Ann.

Kazuki peeked out this time, stating, "Three hostiles, one of em's near half an upturned boat, the other is behind some kind of rusted engine or something, distance 20 meters. The third is on the ship about 50 meters beyond the other two", he whispered.

"Then were going to have to take them out at the same time.", Touko said, readying her Agram 2000.

"I'll go around the left side of the container and take the one by the upturned boat", Kazuki said.

"Ann, take the guy on the boat", Touko said, "I'll go right and take the guy near the engine…. On 3… 2… 1… go!"

Touko turned the corner around the right side of the container and fired her Agram 2000, the silenced SMG spitting out a burst of three rounds, hitting the pirate in the center mass, killing him.

On the other side of the container, Kazuki fired his MP5 at the pirate next to the boat, dropping him to sand to join his fellow in death. Finally, Ann's M40 fired off a single round, a headshot, eliminating the pirate on the top deck of the Medusa.

"On me!", Touko said, as she led the three of them, weaving between debris strewn between the container and the wreck of the Medusa, making their way towards a huge hole in the hull near bow of the ship. The three of them stacked up briefly against the hill on the right side of the hole.

After checking that the area was clear, Touko gave the hand signal to follow her. Touko walked up the stairs to the top deck of the vessel, pausing briefly to fire a short burst from her Agram, eliminating a pirate on the deck.

From their vantage point on the other side of the ship, they could see that, in addition to the Medusa, two other ships had run aground in the general area.

"I see two pirates on the beach, about fifty meters away, and a sniper on the top deck of the second ship", Ann said.

"Smoke 'em", Touko said, "Then come with us, we need you to read the comms records"

"Roger", Ann said, setting up her sniper rifle and firing off three shots, for three kills. Ann then reloaded her M40 as Kazuki grabbed onto a wheel for opening the door to the bridge.

There was only one man in the bridge as Touko, Ann, and Kazuki entered, a radio operator. Kazuki immediately got out his tanto and thrust it into the operator's back, causing him to cough up blood and fall to the floor, dead.

"Nice one, Kazuki", Touko said, "The comms records should be somewhere in here. Look for a tape recorder or something".

The records, however, proved to be quite unnecessary, as the radio crackled to life.

"Vaas is recording ransom videos at PC", a voice on the radio said.

"He's ransoming them?!", another voice said, "I was told to line up buyers."

"Do it", the first man they hear said, "After the money from the parents shows up, the kids go on the black market and we deliver them to the buyers."

"Double the money. Daddy likes", the first pirate said.

"It sounds like they're holding them somewhere called PC.", Ann whispered, "They plan to demand ransom money, and then, after they get the money, sell them into slavery anyway!"

Suddenly, a third voice shouted on the radio. "Hey, can the chatter! Someone triggered an alarm on the Medusa, you morons."

"We're closest. We've got two boats full of men, heading there now", a voice said on the radio.

"They're sending in reinforcements", Ann said, "We have to go now!"

Ann exited the bridge, followed by Touko and Kazuki. Already, two armed rigid inflatable boats could be seen on the waters off of the wreck.

"Ann, take one with your sniper rifle", Touko said, "I saw a machine gun on the bow, I'm going for it."

Ann took aim at further of the RIBs, picking off first the gunner on the mounted machine gun, then the driver, and finally the two other pirates. The now unmanned boat came to a stop about 20 meters from shore.

Touko, meanwhile, opened fired with a DShK machine gun mounted on the bow of the Medusa. Touko held down the trigger, placing the sight slightly ahead of the moving boat. After about two dozen rounds had impacted the boat, the vessel's engine caught fire, and, second later, exploded.

"All right, lets move, before more of them show up".

Touko and the others ran back down the stairs to the lower deck and out of the hole in the ship, back up the stairs up the bunker from where they came. Thankfully, they met no more pirates on the way. They did not stop running until they were several hundred meters into the jungle on top of the cliff, breathing heavily as they walked to the place where they parked the technical.

After making it to the vehicle, they drove back to Dr. Earnhardt's mansion on the west end of the island. After Touko paused briefly to ensure no pirates were paying the doctor a visit for their drug fix, they made their way around the back, into the cave.

As they entered, they heard a familiar male voice yell "Kamiya!"

"Demon", Touko replied.

"Welcome back", Taro said as they walked into the room, "Glad to see you're all OK".

"Anything happen while you were away?", Taro asked.

"Nothing much", Nanami said, "Dr. Earnhardt came by, offering us some food… and some of his little red pills"

"We declined the latter", Taro added, "You guys find anything?".

"We found some info on where they're holding the others", Touko said, "Somewhere called PC"

"Hold on a sec", Ann said, "I'm gonna give that Dennis guy a call, see if he knows anything about this".

Ann pulled out the cell phone and called the first only numbers saved in the phone- Dennis and Dr. Earnhardt's.

"Hey Dennis", Ann said, "You know anyth…."

"Ann", Dennis said, "There is no time to talk. The pirate's leader, Vaas, he wants us dead. We need your help over at Amanaki village. Please, come quickly." At that, Dennis hung up.

"What?!", Ann asked.

"What happened?", Touko asked.

"Dennis just said there's no time to talk- he needs help at Amanaki, told us to come quickly", Ann replied.

"What do we do?", Kazuki asked.

After a few moments, Touko replied, "Taro, Kazuki, come with me, we're going the find out what the hell is going on."


	4. Chapter 4: BOOM!

**Author's Note: Far Cry 3 is property Ubisoft. Busou Chuugakusei: Basket Army is property of Enterbrain and XXolution. The weapon prices will be different than the ones in game. Also, the structure of an area and mission objectives may differ from the game.**

After driving along the dirt road between Dr. Earnhardt's mansion and the Amanaki as fast as possible, Touko slammed on the brakes of the technical, parking it in front of the gas station in the village, before walking over towards the general store to begin their search for Dennis.

They found him almost immediately- he came running up to them, along with a Rakyat warrior. Taro stepped forward to interpret for him.

"Taro, Kazuki, and Touko", Dennis said- apparently he did remember the names of the others, "Vaas prepares to attack our village. He is gathering weapon as we speak now."

"We're here to free our friends, we're not mercs", Touko said, with Taro interpreting.

"What did the message say?", Dennis asked.

"He's holding them somewhere called PC", Taro replied, again speaking for Touko, "This Vaas guy intends to ransom them, then sell them anyway".

"Well this is good then", Dennis said, "You still have time."

"Please help us, the Rakyat will be murdered if you don't. If you sabotage the weapons, it will weaken Vaas and make him easier to kill.", the Rakyat warrior said.

"OK then", Touko said, "Where does he keep these weapons?"

"Hand me your map", Dennis said, getting out a pen, "The pirates keep the weapons in a shed in an old logging camp. The easiest way in will be through this cave. It should exit onto a hill above the logging camp. The general store owner has agreed to give you some equipment to destroy the cache free of charge. Stop by the store before you go."

As he spoke, Dennis marked the cave entrance and the logging camp on the map.

Touko entered the general store along with Taro and Kazuki. Immediately, the store owner said, "You're here, I knew we could count on you. I have the weapon and ammunition Dennis left you. Here."

The store owner handed over an RPG-7 rocket launcher, which Taro picked up enthusiastically, along with a satchel containing four rockets.

"An RPG! Hell yeah!", Taro said, enthusiastically.

"Just don't blow us all up", Touko said, before turning to the store keeper and saying "Thanks for the supplies".

"Your welcome", the owner said, "We're counting on you to succeed. Good luck."

Touko and the others left the store, and stopped by the old shack to pick up the weapons they left there before they assaulted the Medusa.

Touko and the others returned to the technical, and drove it to the south, crossing a river, before the road ascended the side of a ridge. Part-way up the ridge, Touko applied the brakes, parking the vehicle on the side of the road, just before a small wooden bridge over a gully. About ten meters back from the road, at the end of the narrow gully, was the cave marked on the map.

Touko got out a flashlight they had taken from the supplies at Dr. Earnhardt's place and led the way into the entrance of the cave. The cave was narrow, cool, and moist, but still tall enough for a person to stand up in, if only barely. It looked as though it would be flowing with water after a major rainstorm.

The cave moved up at a steady uphill angle for about 100 meters before they spotted a light at the end. The light turned out to be a small sinkhole about 3-4 meters deep, leading up to the surface.

"It looks like we can get up from here", Kazuki said, noting a series of ledges that looked climbable.

Kazuki climbed up first, followed by Touko, with Taro bringing up the rear. About half way up the side of the sinkhole, Touko let out a yell as she slipped on some small pebbles on a ledge, falling backwards.

Thankfully, Kazuki managed to catch her by the hand, and pulled her back up.

"_Arigato", _Touko said.

"No problem", Kazuki replied.

The three of them made their way up to the top of the sinkhole. Directly in front of them was a cliff about six meters tall, and beyond that was a number of shacks, and stacks of logs, as well as old logging equipment, including what looked like an oversized table saw. In the center of it all was a large shack made of wood and corrugated aluminum. Next to the shed, they could see stack of military ammo crates.

"This has to be the place", Touko said, "Taro, go ahead and take it out".

"Get out of the way of the backblast", Taro said as he took aim at the shed, Touko and a Kazuki making sure they were not standing behind the launcher. Taro lined up the shack in his sights and pulled the trigger.

The RPG let out a thunderous roar as it accelerated out of the launcher towards the target. That, however was nothing compared to the sound the rocket made when it impacted the shed. The shed exploded in a ball of fire, hurling pieces of wood and aluminum, as well as the bodies of pirates flying everywhere. The explosion was so intense that it actually shook the ground.

"Get out of here, now", Touko said, starting the climb back down the sinkhole as fast as possible, followed by the two boys. As soon as they made it down to the bottom of the sinkhole, the three of the ran as fast as they could, down the hundred meters of cave, and exited into the gully.

Just as Taro exited, several rounds flew past him- the pirates had followed them into the cave. All three of them took cover on either side of the cave as Taro reloaded the launcher.

"I'll handle this", Taro said as he finished loading the RPG and leaned out and fired the launcher into the cave entrance at the three surprised pirates that were pursuing them. The rocket impacted in an explosion that no doubt killed all three pirates and knocked a large amount of rock loose from the cave roof, collapsing it.

"Nice shooting", Kazuki said, "They won't be coming from that way."

"Hurry up, before they get to us on the road", Touko ordered, running towards the technical. All three of them panted, short of breath, as they got back in the technical and drove off.

After driving back to Amanaki, Touko parked the technical on the side of the road and walked into town, making her way into the village, quickly finding Dennis, who was waiting for them in the middle of the village.

"Excellent work. I heard that explosion from here", Dennis said.

"We took out the weapons cache", Touko said, with Taro interpreting, "Now, its your end of the deal. The pirate on the radio said they were filming ransom videos at a place called PC."

"PC…. PC…. Pirate's Cove", Dennis said, "It's located south of Dr. Earnhardt's house. The actual name is Sunset Cove. It should be marked on the map as such. The pirates have a prison where they keep their captives before selling them into slavery.

Touko handed Taro the map. Sure enough, Sunset Cove was marked on the map.

"Thank you", Touko said.

"There is something else", Dennis said, "There is a way you could launch a sneak attack on the pirates. There is a small outposts to the southeast of town, usually manned by only about 5-10 pirates. They have boat with a machine gun attached that you could use. They'll probably think your pirates until you open fire."

"Thanks for the information.", Touko said, "We'll be returning to Dr. Earnhardt's to plan our attack."

About half an hour later, Touko, Taro, and Kazuki had returned to their "home base" at Dr. Earnhardt's place. By the time they entered the cave, the sun was getting low in the sky.

"Kamiya!", Nanami's voice rang out.

"Demon", Touko replied.

"So", Ann, who was sitting around a camp stove with Nanami, heating some food, said as soon as they got in, "What did Dennis want?"

"He wanted us to blow up some pirate arms stockpiles before they attacked Amanaki village. Apparently their leader- some guy named Vaas- still thinks were base there.", Kazuki said.

"It was easy enough", Taro said, tapping the barrel of the RPG, "Just one shot with this baby, and the whole stockpile was blown to bits! Anyway, after we took care of his little errand, Dennis told us where place the pirates are keeping the others."

"Apparently the 'PC' stands for 'Pirates Cove'- that's what the locals call it, but its real name is Sunset Cove.", Touko said, "The pirates have a prison there where they're holding the others".

All five of them gathered around the map, as Touko pointed out a location to the southeast of Amanaki.

"Dennis told us that there is a pirate outpost here", Touko said, "It should be manned by less than dozen pirates, with an armed boat that his always parked there. That's our ticket in. We have Ann pick off the pirates from the jungle with her sniper rifle, while we ambush the pirates, taking them out before they can respond. Then, we steal the pirate's uniforms, take the boat, and drive it straight into cove."

"That's good and all", Kazuki said, "But how do we get in, the uniforms may work from far away, but they'll recognize us up close".

"Simple", Touko said, "By the time we get close enough, they'll all be dead. Soon as I stop the boat, Ann, you fire first, pick off any snipers from long range. Then, Kazuki you take up the machine gun, and Taro, you get your RPG and PKM ready. Take out any hostiles on the shore- go for machine gun nests and RPGs first."

Touko then turned to Nanami and said, "Karino-san…"

"It's about what happened two years ago", Nanami said, "You're wondering if I'm fit to go with you tomorrow, aren't you?".

Touko looked uncomfortable as she tried to find the right words. Two years ago, Nanami Karino had a breakdown in the middle of the firefight with those mercenaries. She had cowered on her knees, crying and clutching her rifle or clinging to anyone who was nearby.

Nanami, however said, "Don't worry, I'm OK to go, I can take care of myself… and I'm not going to just hide in cave while my friends are endangered. We're going to get out of this together, me included!".

"OK… Just be careful", Touko said, before turning the others, "Everyone, get something to eat and then get a good night's sleep, we set out first thing tomorrow.


End file.
